The 1996 Major League Soccer College Draft was held on March 4, 1996, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

History

As Major League Soccer prepared for its first season, the league began stocking teams with players. As the teams were being created at the same time, the league adopted a measured approach to building rosters. First, the league allocated four "big name" players to each team. Then on February 6 and 7, 1996, the league held its 1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft. Over sixteen rounds, teams selected players from any source. Then on March 4, 1996, the league held a three-round draft of collegiate players. The 1996 MLS Supplemental Draft was held later the same day.

^ Denotes player who has been inducted to the US Soccer Hall of Fame
* Denotes player who has been selected for an MLS Best XI team

Round 1

Pick # MLS team Player Position Affiliation
1 Kansas City Wiz[R1 trade 1] Matt McKeon M St. Louis University
2 D.C. United[R1 trade 2] Eddie Pope D University of North Carolina
3 Dallas Burn[R1 trade 3] Brandon Pollard D University of Virginia
4 Tampa Bay Mutiny Adam Frye D UCLA
5 Kansas City Wiz Chris Snitko GK UCLA
6 New England Revolution Paul Keegan F Boston College
7 Los Angeles Galaxy Guillermo Jara F University of San Diego
8 Dallas Burn Jeff Cassar GK Florida International University
9 Colorado Rapids Mike Gentile M University of Wisconsin–Madison
10 Columbus Crew Mac Cozier F UNC-Charlotte

Round 1 trades

  1. ^ #1: D.C. United → Kansas City Wiz. 3 March 1996: Kansas City Wiz acquired this first-round pick and goalkeeper Garth Lagerwey from D.C. United in exchange for goalkeeper Jeff Causey.[ref 1]
  2. ^ #2: New York/New Jersey MetroStars → D.C. United. 3 March 1996: D.C. United acquired this first-round selection from New York/New Jersey MetroStars in exchange for first-round (#1) and third-round (#21) picks in the 1996 MLS Supplemental Draft.[ref 1]
  3. ^ #3: San Jose Clash → New York/New Jersey MetroStars → Dallas Burn. 4 March 1996: Dallas Burn acquired this first-round selection from New York/New Jersey MetroStars in exchange for a first-round pick (#8) in the 1996 MLS Supplemental Draft.[ref 2] On 26 February 1996, in the first trade in league history, New York/New Jersey had acquired this first-round pick and midfielder Rhett Harty from San Jose Clash in exchange for defender Troy Dayak.[ref 3]

Round 2

Pick # MLS team Player Position Affiliation
11 New York/New Jersey MetroStars[R2 trade 1] Scott Lamphear D University of Wisconsin–Madison
12 New York/New Jersey MetroStars Miles Joseph F Clemson University
13 San Jose Clash Derick Brownell F Santa Clara University
14 Tampa Bay Mutiny Casey Sweeney M Butler University
15 Kansas City Wiz Diego Gutierrez M Rockhurst University
16 New England Revolution Imad Baba M Clemson University
17 Los Angeles Galaxy Greg Vanney M UCLA
18 Tampa Bay Mutiny[R2 trade 2] Steve Ralston M Florida International University
19 Colorado Rapids Paul Grafer GK William & Mary College
20 Columbus Crew Ricci Greenwood F Seattle Pacific University

Round 2 trades

  1. ^ #11: D.C. United → New York/New Jersey MetroStars. 4 March 1996: New York/New Jersey MetroStars acquired this second-round pick, a second-round selection (#11) in the 1996 MLS Supplemental Draft, and goalkeeper Matthew Olson from D.C. United in exchange for a first-round pick (#8) in the 1996 Supplemental Draft.[ref 2]
  2. ^ #18: Dallas Burn → Tampa Bay Mutiny. 4 March 1996: Tampa Bay Mutiny acquired this second-round pick from Dallas Burn in exchange for a second-round selection (#14) in the 1996 MLS Supplemental Draft.[ref 2]

Round 3

Pick # MLS team Player Position Affiliation
21 D.C. United Jesse Marsch M Princeton University
22 New York/New Jersey MetroStars Hamisi Amani-Dove F Rutgers University
23 San Jose Clash Eddie Lewis F UCLA
24 Tampa Bay Mutiny Nate Daligcon D Seattle Pacific University
25 Kansas City Wiz Dion Sebwe D Park University
26 New England Revolution Paulo Dos Santos M University of Rhode Island
27 Los Angeles Galaxy Ante Razov F UCLA
28 Dallas Burn Brandon Cavitt M Sacramento State University
29 Colorado Rapids PASS
30 Columbus Crew Todd Miller M Westminster College

Round 3 trades

No trades reported.

References

  1. ^ a b "2014 SuperDraft Book" (PDF). Major League Soccer. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
  2. ^ a b c "MLS: Transactions". Soccer America. March 4, 1996. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
  3. ^ Yannis, Alex (February 27, 1996). "Soccer Report". New York Times. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
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